Game of chance ensuring a single winner

ABSTRACT

A 3-number bingo game adapted to ensure there can be only a single winner. The numbers from 1 to 75 are divided into fifteen groups of five numbers each. For each group, the unique 3-number combinations of the five numbers taken three at a time are determined and printed on game cards. A single winner is determined if the unique 3-number combination on a player&#39;s game card matches a winning set of three numbers randomly determined by the House.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/316,313, filed Dec. 11, 2008, and entitled GAME OF CHANCE ENSURING ASINGLE WINNER, the specification of which is incorporated herein byreference. Application Ser. No. 12/316,313 is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/323,544, filed Dec. 30, 2005, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 7,464,933 on Dec. 16, 2008, and entitled SINGLE WINNERBINGO GAME, the specification of which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to games of chance. More particularly, and not byway of limitation, the invention is directed to a game of chance such as3-number bingo, and a method that guarantees a single unique winner.

BACKGROUND

Bingo is a game of chance played with a pool of numbers ranging from1-75. There are many variations of the basic game of bingo, which isplayed on a square game-sheet having five rows and five columns forming25 smaller squares. Each of the five columns is headed by one of thefive letters in the word BINGO. The numbers 1-75 are divided into fivegroups of 15 numbers each, and each group of 15 numbers is associatedwith one of the letters in the word BINGO. In other words, the numbers1-15 are associated with the letter ‘B’; the numbers 16-30 areassociated with the letter ‘I’; the numbers 31-45 are associated withthe letter ‘N’; the numbers 46-60 are associated with the letter ‘G’;and the numbers 61-75 are associated with the letter ‘O’. On a player'sgame sheet, the five squares in each column are filled with five numbersrandomly drawn from the 15 numbers associated with that column's letter.During the game, the house randomly draws numbers between 1 and 75, andplayers match the drawn numbers with numbers on their game sheet. Thefirst player to match all of the numbers in any row, column, or diagonalof their game sheet is a winner. However, since the numbers on the gamesheets are random, and the numbers drawn are also random, it is possibleto have more than one simultaneous winner.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of another known versionof playing bingo. In this version, rather than playing with a 25 squaregame sheet, players are provided with small cards similar to instant-winlottery tickets. When opened, each card is printed with three numbers inthe range of 1-75. A player wins whenever the three numbers on theplayer's card have been called.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that 1,000 cards aredistributed to players. This number, of course, may be more or less. Atstep 11, the House prints (or has a vendor print) a large number ofcards with three random numbers in the range of 1-75. At step 12, theHouse distributes 1,000 cards to the players. At step 13, the houserandomly calls numbers in the range of 1-75. Generally, the callednumbers are displayed on a large flashboard visible to all players. Thepositioning of the called numbers on the flashboard has no significanceto the game. The flashboard is merely utilized as an aid to remindplayers which numbers have been called.

The House continues to call random numbers, until one or moresimultaneous winners are determined. At step 14, the House pays outwinnings to the simultaneous winners, which may theoretically beanywhere in the range of 1-1,000 simultaneous winners.

It is often desirable from the perspective of the House and the playersto have a single unique winner of a bingo game. If the House promised aparticular prize to the winner, and there were several simultaneouswinners, the House may have to pay out more than anticipated. On theother hand, if a fixed amount is available for the winner, and there areseveral winners, then the fixed amount must be split between thewinners.

Prior art methods of playing bingo do not ensure a single unique winnerof a bingo game. What is needed in the art is a bingo game and methodthat overcomes the shortcomings of prior art methods of playing bingo.The present invention provides such a bingo game and method.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a method of playing a game ofchance between a plurality of players and a House, wherein each playerhas a game piece comprising a set of indicators, and a winner isdetermined if a player's set of indicators matches a winning set ofindicators randomly determined by the House. The method ensures therecan be only a single winner. The method includes determining by theHouse, a pool of possible indicators; dividing the pool of possibleindicators into a predefined number of divisions; and for each division,calculating the number of unique combinations of the indicators in thedivision taken in groups equal in size to the number of indicators ineach player's set of indicators. Each unique combination is thenassociated with one of a plurality of game pieces. The method alsoincludes providing the plurality of game pieces to the players; randomlydetermining the winning set of indicators; and determining a singlewinner as the player having the game piece with the set of indicatorsthat matches the winning set of indicators.

In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method ofplaying 3-number bingo between a plurality of players and a House,wherein each player has a game card with a set of three numbers between1 and 75 printed thereon, and a winner is determined if a player's setof numbers matches a winning set of three numbers randomly determined bythe House. Again, the method ensures there can be only a single winner.The method includes dividing the numbers from 1 to 75 into fifteengroups of five numbers each; calculating for each group of five numbers,the number of unique 3-number combinations of the five numbers takenthree at a time; and printing each unique 3-number combination on one ofa plurality of game cards. The plurality of game cards are then providedto the players. The method also includes randomly determining thewinning set of numbers; and determining a single winner as the playerhaving the game card with the unique 3-number combination that matchesthe winning set of numbers.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a 3-number bingogame played between a plurality of players and a House, wherein the gameis adapted so that there can be only a single winner. The game includesa plurality of game cards, each game card having a unique 3-numbercombination of numbers between 1 and 75 printed thereon; and means forthe House to determine a winning set of three numbers matching one ofthe unique 3-number combinations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had byreference to the following Detailed Description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a flow chart illustrating the steps of a knownmethod of playing bingo;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flashboards suitable for use with the bingo game ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an embodiment of amethod of playing bingo in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a game card with a set of three numbers between 1 and 75printed thereon; and

FIG. 5 is a sealed card for use by the House that contains the winning3-number combination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is a 3-number bingo game andmethod of playing the game that ensures that there is only one winner.Each card eligible to play the game is printed with a unique 3-numbercombination. Therefore, the first player to match all three numbers onhis card must be the only winner.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flashboards suitable for use with the bingo game ofthe present invention. FIG. 2A illustrates a vertically orientedflashboard, and FIG. 2B illustrates a horizontally oriented flashboard.In the vertical orientation of FIG. 2A, there are five columns; eachheaded by one of the letters of the word BINGO, and each containing 15sequential numbers. In the vertical orientation, each row contains fivenumbers, one from each of the five columns. In the horizontalorientation of FIG. 2B, there are five rows, each headed by one of theletters of the word BINGO, and each containing 15 sequential numbers. Inthe horizontal orientation, each column contains five numbers, one fromeach of the five rows.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an embodiment of amethod of playing bingo in accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention. At step 21, ten unique 3-number combinations are determinedfor each of the fifteen 5-number columns of the flashboard (assuming ahorizontally oriented flashboard as shown in FIG. 2B). It can be shownmathematically that any set of five different numbers can be combinedthree at a time to form ten unique combinations. Mathematically, this isshown as follows:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{\;}} = {{5!}\text{/}{{\left( {5 - 3} \right)!} \cdot {3!}}}} \\{= {120\text{/}\left( {2 \cdot 6} \right)}}\end{matrix} \\{= {120\text{/}12}}\end{matrix} \\{= 10}\end{matrix}$

Since the Dashboard has fifteen 5-number columns, there are a total of150 unique 3-number combinations, when combinations are formed onecolumn at a time. Assuming once again that 1,000 cards are to bedistributed to players, 850 cards are printed at step 22 with anindication that the card is not a HOLD card (or alternatively, thesecards are printed without an indication that the card is a HOLD card).At step 23, 150 cards are printed with a HOLD indication. Each HOLD cardincludes a different one of the 150 unique 3-number combinations. Atstep 24, the House distributes the 1,000 cards to the players. At step25, the bingo game is played with the HOLD cards only.

A winner may be determined in alternative ways. At step 26, the Houserandomly calls numbers from in the range of 1-75, until one uniquewinner with a HOLD card is determined. Since each of the 150 3-numbercombinations on the HOLD cards is unique, there can be only one winner.Additionally, when combinations are formed one column at a time asdescribed above, the House can quickly determine that there has been awinner whenever three numbers in any one column have been drawn. This isbecause each 3-number combination has been uniquely assigned to a singleHOLD card.

In an alternative embodiment, a winner may be determined at step 27 byopening a predetermined sealed card matching one of the 150 unique3-number combinations on the HOLD cards. Once again, there can be onlyone winner. From step 26 or 27, the method proceeds to step 28, wherethe House pays out to the one unique winner.

In the embodiment shown and described above, each HOLD card has a 1 in150 chance of being a winner. The odds may be changed in otherembodiments by computing different combinations and printing a set ofHOLD cards reflecting the new combinations. For example, still referringto FIG. 2B, combinations may be computed for the number of combinationsof the 15 numbers in each row taken three at a time. Mathematically,this is shown as follows:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{\;}} = {{15!}\text{/}{{\left( {15 - 3} \right)!} \cdot {3!}}}} \\{= {\left( {15 \cdot 14 \cdot 13} \right)\text{/}6}}\end{matrix} \\{= {2,730\text{/}6}}\end{matrix} \\{= 455}\end{matrix}$

Thus, there are 455 unique 3-number combinations in each row of theflashboard illustrated in FIG. 2B. Since the flashboard has five15-number rows, there are a total of 455×5=2,275 unique 3-numbercombinations, when combinations are formed one row at a time. Thus inthis embodiment, each HOLD card has a 1 in 2,275 chance of being awinner.

Other combinations of the numbers on the flashboard may also be utilizedto achieve different odds of winning. At one extreme, if combinationsare computed for all 75 numbers on the flashboard taken three at a time,it is found that there are 67,525 unique 3-number combinations. In suchan embodiment, each HOLD card has a 1 in 67,525 chance of being awinner.

In another exemplary embodiment, intermediate odds of winning may beachieved by computing combinations on a per column basis for apredefined number of columns, and then computing combinations for theremaining partial rows. For example, combinations may be computed forthe first eight 5-number columns in the manner shown in the firstembodiment above. This calculation results in a total of 80 unique3-number combinations. Combinations may then be calculated on arow-by-row basis for the remaining seven positions. For each partial row(i.e., positions nine through 15), there are 35 combinations of theseven numbers taken three at a time. Since there are five such partialrows, there are an additional 175 unique 3-number combinations. Thus,the total number of unique combinations in this embodiment is80+175=255. If a hold card is printed for each unique 3-numbercombination, each HOLD card has a 1 in 255 chance of being a winner.

In each embodiment, since each HOLD card includes a unique 3-numbercombination, there can be only one winner.

FIG. 4 is a game card with a set of three numbers between 1 and 75printed thereon.

FIG. 5 is a sealed card for use by the House that contains the winning3-number combination.

As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovativeconcepts described in the present application can be modified and variedover a wide range of applications. For example, the pool of numbersbeing played may be greater or lesser than 75, and the HOLD cards mayinclude greater or lesser than three numbers. The invention may also beutilized with indicators other than numbers such as letters or othersymbols. Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not belimited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed above, butis instead defined by the following claims.

1. A method of providing a game of chance by a House wherein the methodensures that there can only be a single winning game piece; the methodcomprising: providing, by the House, a set of game pieces adapted forreceipt by a plurality of players; each game piece of the set of gamepieces comprises: a unique set of indicators having a predeterminednumber of indicators, each unique set of indicators being one of aplurality of indicator combinations derived from one of a plurality ofdivisions of indicators that were selected from a pool of possibleindicators; wherein a total number of the plurality of indicatorcombinations for the plurality of divisions of indicators is equal to anumber of game pieces in the set of game pieces; and wherein the uniqueset of indicators on each game piece is adapted to be viewed by playersin receipt of the game pieces; randomly selecting, by the House,indicators from the pool of possible indicators until the randomlyselected indicators coincide with a first unique set of indicators thatis one of the plurality of indicator combinations; and determining, bythe House, a single winning game piece from among the set of gamepieces, the single winning game piece being the one game piececomprising the first unique set of indicators.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the step of determining further comprises,observing, by the House, that the predetermined number of indicatorswere randomly selected from a same division of indicators.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the pool of possible indicators consistsof 75 indicators being the numbers from 1 to
 75. 4. The method accordingto claim 3, wherein the plurality of divisions of indicators is equal to15 divisions of indicators that were selected from the pool of possibleindicators; and wherein each of the 15 divisions of indicators consistsof 5 numbers.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein thepredetermined number of indicators is equal to 3 such that each uniqueset of indicators on each game piece comprises a 3 different numbersderived from the 5 numbers from one of the 15 divisions of 75indicators.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein each game pieceof the number of game pieces in the set of game pieces has the set ofindicators printed thereon.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereinrandomly selecting indicators from the pool of possible indicatorscomprises randomly selecting indicators, one at a time, from the pool ofpossible indicators until the first unique set of indicators have beendrawn.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of randomlyselecting indicators from the pool of possible indicators comprisesopening a sealed card, by the House, that contains a randomly selectedfirst unique set of indicators that is one of the plurality of indicatorcombinations.
 9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the pluralityof divisions of indicators is equal to 5 divisions of indicators thatwere selected from the pool of possible indicators; and wherein each ofthe 5 divisions of indicators consists of 15 numbers.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the predetermined number of indicators isequal to 3 such that each unique set of indicators on each game piececomprises a 3 different numbers derived from the 15 numbers from one ofthe 5 divisions of 75 numbers.
 11. A method of providing a 3-numberbingo game adapted for play between a plurality of players and a House,wherein a set of game cards are provided for distribution to theplayers; wherein each game card comprises a set of three numbersthereon, each number being from a pool of indicator numbers 1 to 75, andwherein a winning game piece is determined when the set of three numberson a game card matches a winning set of three numbers determinedrandomly by the House, and wherein the 3-number bingo game is furtheradapted to ensure that there can be only a single winning player of eachprovided game, said method of providing the 3-number bingo gamecomprising: dividing the pool of indicator numbers, 1 to 75, intofifteen groups of five numbers each; calculating for each group of fivenumbers a number of unique 3-number combinations; and featuring eachunique 3-number combination on a different one of the game cards,wherein the number of unique 3-number combinations defines the number ofgame cards in the set of game cards, wherein the set of game cardscomprises the number of game cards; wherein the number of game cards areadapted to be provided to the plurality of players such that each unique3-number combination featured on the game cards can be viewed by eachplayer; the set of game cards being further adapted to enable the Houseto determine that a single winning game card exists when 3 numbers fromone of the fifteen groups of five numbers have been randomly selected bythe House, then a first winning game card featuring the randomlyselected 3 numbers from the single group of five numbers exists.
 12. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein the 3 numbers from one of thefifteen groups of five numbers randomly selected by the House arerandomly selected from the pool of indicator numbers one at a time untilthe 3 numbers from the single group of five numbers is drawn.
 13. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein the 3 numbers from the singlegroup of five numbers are randomly selected by the House and placed inan envelope that designate the first winning game card.
 14. A game ofchance adapted for play between a plurality of players and a House,wherein the game of chance is adapted so that there can be only a singlewinner, said game of chance comprising: a predetermined number of gamepieces adapted for distribution to the plurality of players, each of thegame pieces comprises: a set number of indicators, wherein each setnumber of indicators is a unique combination of indicators selected fromone of a predefined number of indicator divisions, wherein each of theindicator divisions consists of a different set of indicators selectedfrom a pool of possible indicators; wherein the predetermined number ofgame pieces is equal to a total number of unique combinations ofindicators calculated based on the set number of indicators, the numberof indicators in each of the indicator divisions and the numberindicators in the pool of possible indicators; and wherein a game pieceof the game of chance becomes a winning game piece of the game of chancewhen randomly selected indicators, from the pool of possible indicators,match one of the unique combinations of indicators on one of the gamepieces.
 15. The game of chance according to claim 14, wherein the setnumber of indicators is equal to 3 indicators, the predefined number ofindicator divisions is equal to 15 indicator divisions, and the numberof indicators in the pool of possible indicators is equal to 75indicators.
 16. The game of chance according to claim 14, wherein theset of indicators is equal to 4 indicators, the predefined number ofindicator divisions is equal to 15 indicator divisions and the number ofindicators in the pool of indicators is equal to 75
 17. The game ofchance according to claim 14, further comprising use of a bingoflashboard and wherein the pool of possible indicators consists of thenumbers from 1 to
 75. 18. A method of providing a multi-indicator gameadapted for play between a plurality of players and a House, the methodof providing the multi-number indicator game comprising: selecting apool of P indicators; dividing the pool of P indicators into D divisionsof indicators; calculating for each of the D divisions of indicators, Ssets of N-unique indicator combinations such that a number of game cardsin a set of game cards is equal to the sum of the number of S sets ofN-unique indicator combinations in each of the D divisions, wherein P,D, S and N are integers; providing a set of game cards comprising thenumber of game cards, wherein providing comprises: enabling a winninggame card from the number of game cards in the set of game cards to beestablished when a first set of randomly selected indicators from thepool of P indicators includes one of the S sets of N-unique indicatorcombinations; and featuring one of the S sets of N-unique indicatorcombinations from each of the D divisions on each of the number of gamecards; and adapting each of game cards in the set of game cards forassociation with a player such that if one of the sets of N-uniqueindicator combinations is featured on the game card, an associatedplayer can view it.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the Ddivisions of indicators consists of a different number of indicatorsthan another one of the D divisions of indicators.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the set of game cards includes the number of gamecards and additional game cards.
 21. The method of claim 18, whereinselecting the pool of P indicators further comprises selecting the poolof P indicators that coincide with a predetermined master set ofindicators.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the predetermined masterset of indicators coincide with numbers on a bingo flashboard.
 23. Themethod of claim 18, where N is an integer greater or equal to 2 and lessthan or equal to a number of indicators in a division of indicators. 24.The method of claim 19, wherein each of the indicators comprises an iconor avatar.